Share Your Passion

I've been connecting the dots lately in terms of figuring out what I'm truly passionate about and what inspires that passion. If you've been keeping up with my blog, it's very obvious that I'm passionate about research, design, social media, and education (and cupcakes). Thanks to the PR agency I work for, Sweet Lemon Magazine, She's the First, and The White House Project, I've been blessed with many opportunities to marry those passions. That process of challenging myself to use my skills and share my passion in as many areas of my life as possible has helped me live a more meaningful life over the past few months.

But enough about me. I also mentioned that I've recently figured out what inspires my passion. To put it simply, it's other people who aren't afraid to share theirs. I hear a lot of people talking about how to "find your passion" or "follow your passion." Yes, those were the first two steps to creating the meaningful life I've been living. However, I think a lot of people are past steps one and two but are experiencing barriers to actually sharing their passion with others. Are you afraid someone will judge you? Do you think you're "too cool" to gush about what you love? Do you not feel like you have enough authority to hold a conversation about what makes you tick? To be fair, I used to be hesitant about broadcasting my thoughts and feelings to others. I hesitated for months before starting a blog, but here I am. Everyone has their own barriers, but I wish people would find a way to get past them. If you're one of those people, I'm listening. I don't care if you love to run marathons, talk about football, design handbags, write poetry, or travel the world. I want to hear about your passion in your words, because my passion for life comes from your passion for yours. In fact, maybe people in general should be added to my list of passions. Is that too weird?

Very seriously, I think one of the most attractive and relatable qualities a person can have is not being afraid to talk about, write about, tweet about, or even paint a mural of exactly what they love. The more I surround myself with passionate people, the more I want to fill in the gaps of my life with more people like them. No matter what your passion is, it usually translates itself into a skill set that can be used to help, to teach, or to inspire. Sit down and make a list, whether it's one big thing or a thousand small ones. Think about what fascinates you, motivates you, or makes you geek out. Then, go find someone who doesn't know what you love, and start communicating. In my opinion, the world isn't filled with enough passion. Imagine if it were. I'm waiting, so start talking.